The owner of the Premier Inn chain, Whitbread, has started the construction of its most high-profile hotel development in Ireland at Dublin’s Clerys Quarter.
The new hotel is set for completion in summer 2026.
Construction and fit-out company Gilbert-Ash has been appointed as the principal contractor for the development which is an important part of the regeneration of one of the city’s most iconic department stores.
The 229-bedroom hotel will be at Earl Place, just off O’Connell Street, and will form part of a mixed-use development of Clerys Quarter.
The work at the former warehouse site includes the construction of an eight-storey hotel plus basement and roof, with restaurant and reception on the ground floor.
Whitbread bought the development site in 2022 as part of its strategy to expand Premier Inn in Ireland, securing full planning permission to build the hotel from Dublin City Council in June 2023.
Whitbread has been growing rapidly in Ireland after the opening of the first Premier Inn hotel in Dublin city centre in October 2021. It now has six hotel locations in Dublin and in Cork and is targeting 5,000 Premier Inn rooms in 11 towns and cities across the country.
Emma O’Shiel, Project and Programme Manager for Whitbread in Ireland, said the new Premier Inn in the Clerys Quarter is an exciting step in the hotel chain’s growth story in Ireland.
“This development aligns with our commitment to creating outstanding hotels that deliver great value and comfort for our guests and it is sure to be one of the most popular Premier Inns in Ireland when we open the doors in 2026,” she added.
Gilbert-Ash Project Director, Sean Doran, said the new hotel will be a key addition to the Clerys Quarter development.
“For generations, the Clerys Department Store was an iconic Dublin landmark, and it is great to see the development work that has already gone on there. The Premier Inn hotel project forms part of the wider Clerys Quarter regeneration which will breathe new life into this historic location in the heart of the city,” he said.
